NASCAR penalties: Weeks after his severe crash, Cody Ware suffers yet another major setback

Following his scary crash on the streets of Chicago, Cody Ware has suffered another major setback. The 29-year-old NASCAR driver is set to compete without his usual pit crew members in the next two races after they were suspended due to a loose tire at Sonoma Raceway.

To recall, Ware, driver of the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford, lost a right-rear tire on the Californian road course on lap 96 last weekend. As always, such incidents are subject to a suspension under Section 8.8.10.4.C of the NASCAR rule book.

In the upcoming two races at Dover Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, #51 pit crew members Marquill Osborne and De’Quan Hampton will be sidelined. Jayski reported the announcement on X and wrote:

“Rick Ware Racing has two pit-crew members suspended for Cody Ware having a wheel come off during the Cup race.”

After losing a tire at Sonoma, Cody Ware pitted and later settled with a 34th-place finish two laps down. This result follows his 26th-place finish in the Chicago street race, where he lost a brake rotor and deliberately rode the wall to slow himself down. He eventually crashed into the tire barrier in turn six at a high speed, and fortunately, he got out of his car without serious injury.

Ware will be back in the #51 Ford for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover this weekend. The 400-lap oval race will kick off on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET live on TNT Sports.

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“Praise the Lord for keeping me safe”: Cody Ware on health update after big crash in Chicago

Last week, Cody Ware shared an update on his health after a big crash on the streets of Chicago. He expressed gratitude for his faith and his #51 race team for keeping him safe during an incident he described as not fun.

In an Instagram post, the North Carolina native wrote:

"Thank you to everyone who has reached out the last couple days and checked on me. Praise the Lord for keeping me safe during that wreck, blowing a rotor at Chicago was not a fun experience. Huge thanks to my team and all the mechanics working on these cars to keep me safe, and all of the safety equipment that I was wearing.”

While fans were impressed with the advancement in safety technologies, NASCAR was blasted for delaying the call for caution. The sanctioning body took accountability for the delay, saying they didn't have the actual footage of the crash at the time.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl